Building block



Z 6 Z W 11%??? S w March 14, 1939. s, was ET AL 2,136,809 I BUILDING BLOCK Filed Dec. .22, 1937 WITNESS INVENTOR v ATT EY Patented Mar. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE nmmma BLOCK Walter S. Rugg, Pittsburgh, and Henry D. James,

Edgewood, Pa.

The present invention relates to a building unit, and more particularly to a self-contained article of manufacture embodying desired characteristics. I I a It is the usual practice in the fabrication of buildings and particularly their exterior walls to construct these walls in layers to obtain the de-- sired structural and thermal characteristics. In all cases of which we are aware, this has been 10 accomplished by fabricating the wall on the job by cutting, sawing and (fitting large sheets of insulation material to the framework and adding a weather resisting surface of brick, tile, boards, or similar material, which involves a substantial l5 expenditure of time and results in a high labor cost.

Frequently the insulation is inside of the frame or between frame members which is undesirable when the frame is metal.

20 Recognizing the limitations in present and past practice, applicants have devised an outside wall unit having thermal and sound insulation protected from moisture, and a weather resisting covering combined with structural and decorative 25 features which may be manufactured, merchandised and distributed through existing trade channel, such as are ordinary ceramic bricks. These blocks may be attached to the building framework readily and without fitting to form a tight,

weatherproof, insulating covering entirely surrounding the framework. This covering may later be removed for alterations to the building without injury to the blocks. This results in a substantial simplification of the construction of the outside 35 wall of a building with a marked decrease in labor expenditure without sacrificing desired structural and insulating characteristics.

This application is a further development of a system for pre-fabricating houses as disclosed in 40 co-pending application, for Standardized building units, Serial No. 141,438, filed May 8, 1937, by the present inventors.

The object of the invention, therefore, is to provide, as an article of manufacture, building units 45 of standard size for convenient handling which are constructed so as to embody desired insulating, weather resisting and decorative features.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description read in conjunction 50 with the accompanying drawing wherein;

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a building block constructed in accordancewith the invention, and

Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section taken trans- 55 versely of the block shown in Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the'drawing, the building block in accordance with the invention includes a base or pan 2 having angularly upturned edges 4 on each of its sides. The base is preferably of more or less rigid material, such as 5 sheet iron, but may be of any desired material so long as sufficient mechanical strength is provided.

It has been found that a convenient size for the base, to facilitate handling of the building unit and insure sufiicient flexibility in covering the building wall around door and window openings is two-by-three feet. Of course this size may be varied, but it is contemplated that a single stand- I may be of many different types depending upon the degree and kind of insulation required, but is preferably of such character that it is self-supporting so that the gum or cement renders it and the pan a substantially integral -unit. Materials now on the market such as Celotex" or cork may be suitable for this purpose, and the adhesive material may be an asphalt cement, for example, or waterproof glue.

The upper peripheral edge of the sheet 6 is recessed or grooved, as indicated more clearly in -Fig. 2, for receiving the depending peripheral edge of the face of the block as hereinafter described,

and the top of the sheet is covered with a heat refleeting material 8, such as aluminum foil, suitably glued or cemented thereto.

The face of the block is formed of a desired weather-resistant facing Hi. This may be in one piece as indicated in the drawing, and provided 40 with depending edges snugly fitting in the notched edge of the insulation 6. The facing l0 may then be cemented in the position shown, to complete the substantially integral composite block.

The material of the facing l0 may take various forms. It may be of glass, colored, if desired, or

transparent in which event reliance may be placed on coloring the reflecting strata 8 to obtain a. desired effect. Also the facing may be grooved or corrugated to obtain a desired appearance. Other materials of course are available, and may be used, for the facing, such as tile, metal, or various types of composition material such as Transite and Masonite.

A usual defect in insulating materials, of the .2 I kindusually employed, is that they are not free of moisture, or if moisture is initially removed, the

material will absorb it from the atmosphere, or other sources, din'ing subsequent use thereby substantially reducing the insulating qualities.

To remedy this condition, it is contemplated that the block assembled as above described will have the moisture removed initially and the edges of the block sealed to prevent subsequent absorption. The removal may be accomplished by heating the block to thoroughly dry it, and the edges layer 'of insulating material being substantially,

may then be sealed by dipping them in a suitable compound, such as tung oil, waterproof cement, or other moisture-proof material. In the case of relatively dense insulating material, the block may be subjected to a vacuum treatment to insure penetration of the sealing material. The edge of the block when the sealing material has penetrated the insulation, is indicated in Fig. 2.

The assembled unitary and treaied block may be'secured in operative position, referring to Fig. 2, by means of wedges i2 driven through clips Hi, secured to the metal base 2 by rivets, bolts or welding, into engagement with the edge of angles constituting the studding of the building. The securing means shown is illustrative of many which may be employed, but preferably the means should be such that the blocks may be individually removable to facilitate individual replacement if After the blocks are in position, suitable cement or caulking may be applied to the cracks between them to insure moisture-tight Joints.

It is considered that the present invention is a real advance in the building art. It makes possible a complete building exterior fabricated in the factory'and hence minimizes high labor cost on the job. It provides a complete insulated and weather-resistant wall structure while retaining the advantage of handling individual units in much the same manner as ordinary building brick. It affords a standardizable unit with attendant economies in manufacture and distribution- Theblocks constitute a unit for an exterior wall, which when assembled, the whole constitutes a complete exterior wall having all of the characteristics desirable for such a wall namely, weather resisting; heat and sound insulating, nonabsorbent of moisture; the wholewall being exterior to the frame of the building leaving the spaces between the frame members available for air ducts, pipes, conduits, etc.; and with no heat conducting parts, extending from the outside surface to the frame. I 4

Modifications may be made in the specific'materials described and it is intended that the scope of the invention shall not be limited except by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

block 'for an exterior wall comprising a metallic pan, a layerof thermal insulating material coveringthe entire area of one side of said pan, a weather-resistant facing on said insulating material and spaced from said pan, and-means for securing said-pan, layer and coating in assembled relation to constitute a unitary structure; said 'free' of moisture and means sealing the edges 1 thereof in moisture-tight manner;

1. As anarticle of manufacture, a building.

2. As an article of manufacture, a building block-for an exterior wall comprising a metallic pan, 9. layer of thermal insulating material covering said pan, a sheet. of heat reflecting material covering said insulating material, a weather resistant body covering said reflecting material, and

means for cementing said elements together to constitute an integral building block with no me-- tallic conducting path between said pan and the exposed surface of said weather-resistant body.

3. As an article of manufacture, a building block for an exterior wall comprising a metallic pan, a layer of thermal insulating material covering said pan, a sheet of heat reflecting materialcovering said insulating material, a weather resistant body covering said reflecting material, and means for cementing said elements together to constitute an integral building block; said layer of insulating material being substantially free of moisture and means sealing the edges thereof in moisture-tight manner.

4. As an article of manufacture, a building block for an exterior wall comprising a rigid, fireproof, nonabsorbent base, a'layer of thermal insulating material covering said base, a weatherresistant facing on said insulating material, and means for securing said base, layer and facing in assembled relation to constitute a unitary structure; said base having up-turned edges embracing the edges of said layer of insulating material, and said weather resistant coating being non-flexible and having depending edges embracing the edges of sald insulating material.

5. As an article of manufacture, a building block for an exterior wall comprising .a base plate having upturned edges, a body of insulating material disposed on said plate and having only vits lower edges embraced by the edges of the plate,

a heat reflecting sheet covering the upper face of the body, a layer of weather resistant material covering said sheet, and means for securing said elements in the relation specified to constitute a unitary block.

6. As an article of manufacture, a building block for an exterior wall comprising a metallic I base plate, a, layer of thermal insulating mate: rial completely covering one side of said plate, a weather-resistant body on said insulating layer and spaced by said layer over its entire area by said layer from said plate, and means for securing said base, layer and body in assembled relation to constitute a unitary structure.

7. An article of manufacture comprising a building block for an exterior wall comprising a metallic base plate of rectangular shape, a layer of thermal'insulating material completely covering one side of'said plate, a weather-resistant 

